En Route
It's time for my yearly Exodus with JB and McQueen. We're meeting up in the middle of Nowhere, TN to stay in a cheap motel and drive to Almost Nowhere, TN and hear a band that I've waited 25 years to hear live. We will be at Bonnaroo as middle-aged men; white, pasty...
NYC
I hadn't been to New York in 12 or 13 years. I was last there right as Times Square was undergoing its massive change and people were griping about SoHo being overrun by yuppies and the chain stores that sell to them. It's now a tourist trap/brand touch point for...
Canadians are Nice
I've known about Canadians and their niceness since university. I fell madly, then obsessively in love with a feisty Toronto girl in the late 80s. She introduced me to the Pogues, so it didn't end all badly. It goes without saying that there are tons of nice Canadian...
Home
We're back from the SF work/vacation trip. I had two main concerns for my family this time in San Francisco: 1) Heather would go mad; 2) Leta would scream on the plane or anywhere else in public. I think we made it pretty well. There were a couple of rough days, but...
The Best Burrito in SF
Is located inside this place: And to rub it in to one of the commenters (and friend): Excellent salsa verde.
Catch Up
I'm sore, a little sunburned and a lot behind. Who knew that even at 10,000 feet above sea level, there can still be effects from a heatwave? I was hoping for a respite, but it wasn't to be. Even when the sun went down, the heat made the campfire and sleeping bag...
This is Broken: San Francisco Muni Metro
As a progressive, I'm all for public transportation. Especially rail-based subway systems that are cheap and efficient for the masses. Examples of good systems seem to mostly point to Europe, but in the U.S., there are some cities that get it right. New York probably...
SXSW: The Cocaine Thing
We're home now. In reality. Very real reality with an exhausted Heather, an exhausted dog and what appears to be an exhausted baby. Chuck had a great time at his dog spa. This isn't California, people. Chuck had his own version of SXSW. He's wiped as well. Being...
Centraal Station
This is on the main train station in Amsterdam. Train station. The U.S., with our addiction to oil (and apparently presidents who love to service their equally addicted to profits oil company pimps) could give a shit about our train stations. Oh sure, we've got the...
Black Licorice
One of my favorite bad things for me (although some might argue opposite) is black licorice. I have a friend with family in Denmark who brings the stuff back to the States and periodically I've been privy to some of the most varied and wonderful licorice textures and...
Architecture
I've posted some more photos to flickr. We took over 1,100 photos while we were there. I tend to think it might have been double that had the light been less flat.
Travel Tips
I've decided to not do a massive photo post, but work on a few a day. I just posted five new Amsterdam photos (you can see them on flickr [in case you don't know what the hell I'm on about, click on the little square images at the top of the page] for now, I'll...
Hydration
We pack for trips like we are 19th century pioneers. We pack everything we might need, plus a couple of oxen. On this trip we were right to pack the warm clothes. It's been twenty years since I've been in winter weather in Europe (I'm including England in Europe)....
Art Nerd
Yesterday was the museum day for us. We awoke late and had a wonderful breakfast (with bacon!) and set out for the Van Gogh Museum. The last time I saw a major collection of Van Gogh work was in Los Angeles in 1999. That show was a good one, but seeing his work here...
Chicken Sate
So far, the two chicken sate dishes (the one I had for lunch, and the other that was part of the rijstoffel we had for dinner) have had a heavier peanut sauce than I've experienced before. I love it. Heather, not so much. I just wanted to clarify that I loved my lunch...
Jetlagged But Happy
Arrived in Amsterdam! Beautiful city. Beautiful. Quite cold, with ever-changing conditions (rain, snow, sunshine, wind) that i had forgotten from my England days. Amsterdam is near the same latitude as Birmingham, England, so the weather is very similar. Some advice...
I’m not the only one
Tonight as we frantically finished packing and got all the nerd shit together for the trip, Heather had a panic. She COULDN'T FIND HER WATCH. These kinds of panics are usually reserved for me involving keys, sunglasses or a stray wallet fourteen seconds before we need...
Dining Tips
Does anybody have any favorite restaurants/haunts in Amsterdam? We're wearing Depends we're so excited.